What would Britons do in a real crisis?

I am going to become one of those people who, as the Wikipedia definition explains ‘are actively preparing for emergencies, including possible disruptions in social or political order, on scales from local to international.’

I’m already well on my way, with quite a few litres of bottled water stocked up in the garage, along with tins of beans, soup, tuna and peaches. Survivalists in America - where this sort of thing is quite common - always seem to have tinned peaches, so I’m assuming they’re great in a crisis.

We’ve got a couple of portable gas stoves for camping which would enable us to cook, providing, of course, that I don’t forget to stockpile matches. They are next on my list, along with a can opener, candles and my ‘Keep Calm and Carry On’ mug.

It would not take much for the country to descend into chaos. This became glaringly obvious during the recent closure of half the Kentucky Fried Chicken outlets across the UK due to a chicken shortage.

I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard reports of panic on the streets of London. As the shut-down entered its fourth day, desperate bargain bucket lovers called the police, who told them that "fried chicken is not a police matter".

Many contacted their local MP, and I watched in despair as one woman on the TV news looked close to breaking down as she raged about having to go to the Burger King ‘drive-thru’ instead.

What anyone who has fled to Britain from a war-ravaged country like Syria, with genuine problems, thinks when they witness this sort of behaviour is beyond me.

If the closure of a few take-aways can cause such mayhem in this country, what would happen if a real emergency took hold?

Supermarkets would be stripped bare within hours. You only have to visit a store on Christmas Eve - when people stock up more to compensate for the one-day closure than to cater for extra visitors - to see how people panic buy. Tinned peaches would be the first thing to go.

It does not take much nowadays for people to panic - they go into melt down out if their broadband goes down for more than 30 seconds and act as if there’s been a death in the family if their mobile phone locks them out.

Yet far more serious scenarios are a real possibility and a growing number of people across the UK are preparing for the worst, emulating American survivalists by stocking up on food to last many months.

I still have my copy of ‘Preparing for Emergencies’, the booklet delivered to every house by the Government advising us as to what we need to know in a country-wide emergency, which I am sure does not include a shortage of take-away chicken.

‘It is always useful to have,’ it says, ‘ready-to-eat food (eg tinned food) and a bottle/tin opener, in case you have to remain in your home for several days.’

Of course it also mentions other provisions that should be gathered together such as a wind-up radio, torch, batteries, candles and first aid kit.

It’s basic advice and obviously won’t sustain anyone long in the collapse of civilisation, but the booklet is useful for advice on short-term social unrest. I’ll certainly keep it to hand among my little store of essentials.

If there’s a power cut, a water or food shortage, or Brexit does as many fear and propels us back into the Third World, I should be prepared.

Ipsoregulated

This website and associated newspapers adhere to the Independent Press Standards Organisation's Editors' Code of Practice. If you have a complaint about the editorial content which relates to inaccuracy or intrusion, then please contact the editor here. If you are dissatisfied with the response provided you can contact IPSO here